Castleton University Men's Soccer

John O'Connor enters his eighth season at the helm of Castleton University in 2020. He holds a career record of 235-194-47 (110-76-18 in conference play) over his 25 year head coaching career. Over his first five seasons with the Spartans, O'Connor has led CU to the 2017 North Atlantic Conference regular season championship, tournament title and a berth in the NCAA Championship, the 2013 NAC regular season championship and a share of the 2015 NAC title. O'Connor picked up his 200th career win in the Spartans' victory over Western New England in the 2015 ECAC Division III Tournament Quarterfinal. He was named 2017 NAC Coach of the Year - his third such honor. O'Connor's 2013 squad posted an 8-1-1 conference record to earn the regular season championship and top seed in the North Atlantic Conference Tournament before falling to eventual NAC Champion Thomas. Senior Nate Koenemann was named the Defensive Player of the Year and became the program's first NSCAA All-Region selection since 2010, when he was voted to the first team. Overall, O'Connor had five players earn NAC All-Conference honors and was himself named the NAC Coach of the Year as the team finished 13-4-2 overall. Prior to Castleton, O'Connor served as the head coach for the University of Rhode Island from 2006-2012. During his tenure with the Rams he won an Atlantic 10 Tournament Championship and reached the tournament semifinals on two other occasions. Five of his former players went on to play professional soccer, and three of which played in Major League Soccer, including former U.S. Men's National Team and Stoke City (EPL) defender Geoff Cameron who currently plays for Queens Park in England.  In addition to his work at the Division I level, O'Connor also served as the head coach at Division III University of Chicago from 1995-2006. In just his second season the team reached the national semifinal and he was named the NSCAA Division III National Coach of the Year. He reached the NCAA Tournament again in 2001 and 2005 when his teams were ranked in the top-15 nationally. While at Chicago he also served as an associate professor in the department of Physical Education.  O'Connor earned his Bachelors of Science in Physical Education from the University of Maine-Orono in 1984 and two years later completed his masters in Education with a concentration in Leadership. From 1990-95, he spent five seasons as an assistant coach at Dartmouth under Bobby Clark, the present coach at the University of Notre Dame. He was a part of two Ivy League Championships with the Big Green, who reached the quarterfinals of the NCAA Division I Tournament twice during his tenure in Hanover. The collegiate head coach earned a USSF "A" License and holds a NSCAA Premier Diploma. He is active in coaching education through the United Soccer Coaches, US Soccer and works with the Vermont Olympic Development Program as well as being the Director of Coaching/Technical Director for Summit Futbol Club. He has served as a site representative for the NCAA Division III National Tournament as well as on the NCAA Division III Regional and D3.com ranking committees. O'Connor resides in Rutland with his wife Sheila, a former 20 year college swim coach and the Castleton University Aquatics Coordinator, and their children Megan (18) and Michael (16).